The British hosts of the UN climate conference have called on countries to raise their ambitions to cut greenhouse gas emissions by next year, acknowledging that current pledges fall short of what is needed to avert climate catastrophe.

COP26 President Alok Sharma has announced £120 million to support climate action in Bangladesh.

Poor nations are pressuring their wealthy counterparts at the UN climate summit to pay up for the mounting damage being caused by global warming, pointing to increasing powerful storms, cyclones, droughts and floods afflicting their people.

A portion of an embankment has gone into the Bangshi due to untimely erosion by the river in Fatepur union of Mirzapur upazila, threatening schools, market and other establishments.

The reinforcing and heightening work of old coastal embankments in Pirojpur, Barguna and Patuakhali is going on in full swing, with the completion deadline of June 2022.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud has said that Bangladesh is now a role model in reducing the risks induced by climate change.

Former US President Barack Obama on Monday lent his backing to appeals for more help from those on the frontline of global warming, as developing and rich nations engage to try to end years of deadlock over cash for climate change.

COP26’s first week saw keynote pledges to end deforestation, phase out coal, and mobilise trillions for green investment. But observers say there is a gulf between host Britain’s proclamations and the emissions cuts that must be achieved.

Forty-five nations were scheduled to pledge to step up protection of nature and overhaul farming to cut greenhouse gas emissions, the British hosts of the COP26 UN climate summit said, as thousands of climate protesters around the globe joined Glasgow to protest against climate inaction by world leaders.

Thousands of young people marched through the streets of Glasgow yesterday to protest a lack of climate action with a clear message to negotiators at the COP26 summit: “If not now, when?” 

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen yesterday expressed optimism about adequate flow of funds to address climate change-related challenges, noting that Bangladesh has taken a very strong leadership role in COP26.

Activists will take over the UN climate summit in Scotland on Friday, capping off a week of dizzying government speeches and pledges with a student march, youth-led presentations, and a giant iceberg shipped from Greenland to Glasgow's River Clyde to dramatize the plight of the Arctic.

UN conference host Britain said 77 countries had pledged to phase out coal, dirtiest of the fossil fuels that drive global warming, as a study showed the carbon dioxide they release into the atmosphere had rebounded to near pre-pandemic levels.

‘Mujib Climate Prosperity Plan’ which has been presented at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) will be implemented in 2030 and it needs local and foreign funds.

Australia has shown keen interest to help Bangladesh in developing climate resilience and in Rohingya repatriation.

Banks, insurers and investors with $130 trillion at their disposal pledged on Wednesday to put combatting climate change at the centre of their work, and gained support in the form of efforts to put green investing on a firmer footing.

Houses, croplands, a mosque and several establishments have disappeared due to sudden erosion of Sugandha river near Rahamatpur area under Babuganj upazila in Barishal in the last one week.

Climate troubles will only get more pronounced and disastrous.

The wars of the 21st century will be fought over water, the former World Bank Vice-President Ismail Serageldin had predicted in 1995. And a recent visit to the Chattogram Hill Tracts suggests the region is inching that way.

The outcomes of the COP26 Summit depend on Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and four other such influential dealmakers, who have been tasked with committing the 197 countries to the changes, according to a BBC report.